1981 in film

The following is an overview of events in 1981 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten films released in 1981 by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

• January 20 – Former Governor of California and film actor Ronald Reagan is inaugurated president.
• March 30 – The 53rd Academy Awards are postponed due to the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan earlier that day. They are held the following day with a message from the President recorded for the ceremony prior to the assassination attempt.
• May 16 – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it.
• June 8 – Marvin Davis acquires 20th Century Fox for $720 million.
• June 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark is released by Paramount Pictures. It became Paramount's highest-grossing film of all time and set a major standard for many action-adventure movies to date and spawned four sequels.
• August 21 – An American Werewolf in London is released and becomes a landmark in Visual Effects and Makeup.
• October 1 – MGM president and chief operating officer David Begelman becomes chairman and chief executive officer of United Artists.
• November 1 – United International Pictures is created to handle international distribution of films for United Artists, MGM, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures to replace Cinema International Corporation following MGM's acquisition of UA.
• November 25 – Norman Lear and his partner Jerry Perenchio agree to buy Avco Embassy for $25 million.
• November 29 – Actress Natalie Wood drowns in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island.

Awards

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

Man of Iron (Człowiek z żelaza), directed by Andrzej Wajda, Poland

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Marianne and Juliane (Die Bleierne Zeit), directed by Margarethe von Trotta, W. Germany

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Faster, Faster (Deprisa, deprisa / Vivre vite), directed by Carlos Saura, Spain / France

1981 films

By country/region

• List of American films of 1981
• List of Argentine films of 1981
• List of Australian films of 1981
• List of Bangladeshi films of 1981
• List of British films of 1981
• List of Canadian films of 1981
• List of French films of 1981
• List of Hong Kong films of 1981
• List of Indian films of 1981
• List of Hindi films of 1981
• List of Kannada films of 1981
• List of Malayalam films of 1981
• List of Marathi films of 1981
• List of Tamil films of 1981
• List of Telugu films of 1981
• List of Japanese films of 1981
• List of Mexican films of 1981
• List of Pakistani films of 1981
• List of South Korean films of 1981
• List of Soviet films of 1981
• List of Spanish films of 1981

By genre/medium

• List of action films of 1981
• List of animated feature films of 1981
• List of avant-garde films of 1981
• List of comedy films of 1981
• List of drama films of 1981
• List of horror films of 1981
• List of science fiction films of 1981
• List of thriller films of 1981
• List of western films of 1981

Births

• January 1
• Jonas Armstrong, Irish-English actor
• Eden Riegel, American actress
• January 6
• Betty Gabriel, American actress
• Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress and director
• Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
• January 8 – Genevieve Cortese, American actress
• January 15 - Pitbull, American rapper and actor
• January 17
• Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
• Diogo Morgado, Portuguese actor
• January 18 - Antje Traue, German actress
• January 19 - Elizabeth Tulloch, American actress
• January 20
• Daniel Cudmore, Canadian actor
• Crystal Lowe, Canadian actress and director
• January 21
• Amanda Aday, American actress
• Izabella Miko, Polish actress and dancer
• David F. Sandberg, Swedish filmmaker
• January 22
• O. T. Fagbenle, British actor, writer and director
• Willa Ford, American singer, songwriter, model, television personality and actress
• Beverley Mitchell, American actress
• January 23 - Julia Jones, American actress
• January 24 – Carrie Coon, American actress
• January 25 - Charlie Bewley, English actor and producer
• January 28
• Gen Hoshino, Japanese actor and singer
• Elijah Wood, American actor
• January 29 - Tenoch Huerta, Mexican actor
• January 30 – Chieko Higuchi, Japanese voice actress
• January 31 – Justin Timberlake, American singer and actor
• February 2 - Emily Rose, American actress
• February 5
• Lee Eon, South Korean actor and model (d. 2008)
• Sara Foster, American actress
• Nora Zehetner, American actress
• February 7 - James Snyder, American actor and singer
• February 8
• Dawn Olivieri, American actress
• Jim Parrack, American actor
• February 9 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor
• February 10
• Uzo Aduba, American actress
• Stephanie Beatriz, Argentine actress
• February 11
• Sonia Rolland, French-Rwandan actress
• Kelly Rowland, American singer and actress
• February 12
• Jesse Hutch, Canadian actor
• Lauri Lagle, Estonian actor, director and screenwriter
• February 14 - Patrick Heusinger, American actor
• February 17 –
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
• Paris Hilton, American media personality, singer and actress
• February 19
• Beth Ditto, American singer-songwriter
• Ethan Rains, Iranian-American actor
• February 20 - Majandra Delfino, American actress and singer
• February 22 – Elodie Yung, French actress
• February 23
• Josh Gad, American actor and comedian
• Mai Nakahara, Japanese voice actress
• February 25 - Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Mexican actor
• February 26 - Demetrius Grosse, American actor and producer
• February 27 - Josh Groban, American singer-songwriter and actor
• March 2
• Amos Crawley, Canadian actor
• Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
• March 3
• Austin Highsmith Garces, American actress
• Eugene, South Korean actress and singer
• March 5 - Hanna Alström, Swedish actress
• March 6 – Ellen Muth, American actress
• March 7 – Mona Fastvold, Norwegian filmmaker and actress
• March 11
• David Anders, American actor
• Matthias Schweighöfer, German actor and filmmaker
• March 12 - Lisa Durupt, Canadian actress
• March 17 - Nicky Jam, American singer and actor
• March 18 - Chris Geere, English actor
• March 20 - Jake Hoffman, American actor and writer
• March 21 - Rini Bell, American actress
• March 22 - Tiffany Dupont, American actress
• March 23 - Luciana Carro, Canadian actress
• March 24 - Philip Winchester, American actor
• March 27 - Quim Gutiérrez, Spanish actor
• March 28 – Julia Stiles, American actress
• March 29
• Alexander Fehling, German actor
• Alain Moussi, Canadian-Gabonese actor and stuntman
• March 30 - Katy Mixon, American actress
• March 31
• Ryan Bingham, American singer-songwriter and actor
• Ryōko Shintani, Japanese voice actress
• April 1 - Hannah Spearritt, English actress and singer
• April 6
• Eliza Coupe, American actress and comedian
• Niko Nicotera, German-born American actor
• April 8 - Taylor Kitsch, Canadian actor and model
• April 9 - Moran Atias, Israeli actress
• April 10
• Laura Bell Bundy, American actress
• Harry Hadden-Paton, British actor
• Michael Pitt, American actor
• April 12 - Paul Rust, American actor and comedian
• April 13 – Courtney Peldon, American actress
• April 16 - Russell Harvard, American actor
• April 17 - Charlie Hofheimer, American actor
• April 19
• Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor
• Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
• April 23 – Gemma Whelan, English actress
• April 24 - Sasha Barrese, American actress
• April 26
• Mariana Ximenes, Brazilian actress
• Luke Ford, Canadian-Australian actor
• Amit Shah, English actor
• April 28
• Jessica Alba, American actress
• Toby Leonard Moore, Australian actor
• Catherine Reitman, Canadian-American actress, producer and writer
• April 29 - Alex Vincent, American actor and writer
• April 30
• Kunal Nayyar, British actor
• Emma Pierson, English actress
• Rose Rollins, American actress
• May 2 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress
• May 3 – Natalie Tong, Hong Kong actress and model
• May 4 - Angel Oquendo, American actor
• May 5
• Danielle Fishel, American actress
• Farid Kamil, Malaysian actor and film director
• May 8 - Kaan Urgancıoğlu, Turkish actor
• May 10 – Qurrat Ann Kadwani, American actress
• May 11
• JP Karliak, American actor, voice actor and comedian
• Austin O'Brien, American actor
• May 12 – Rami Malek, American actor
• May 13 - Ryan Piers Williams, American actor, director and writer
• May 15 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
• May 16 - Joseph Morgan, English actor
• May 18 - Allen Leech, Irish actor
• May 21 - Belladonna, American actress, director and producer
• May 28 – Laura Bailey, American voice actress
• May 29
• Justin Chon, American actor, director and YouTube personality
• Anders Holm, American actor, comedian, writer and producer
• June 1
• Johnny Pemberton, American actor, comedian and podcaster
• Amy Schumer, American comedian and actress
• June 4 – T.J. Miller, American actor, stand-up comedian, producer and writer
• June 7 – Larisa Oleynik, American actress
• June 9 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
• June 10 – Jonathan Bennett, American actor
• June 12
• Jeremy Howard, American actor
• Malachi Pearson, American actor
• June 13 – Chris Evans, American actor
• June 14 – Chauncey Leopardi, American actor
• June 20 – Alisan Porter, American former actress
• June 23 - Joe Taslim, Indonesian actor and martial artist
• June 26 - Jimmy Ray Bennett, American actor
• June 28 - Jon Watts, American filmmaker
• June 30
• Tom Burke, English actor
• Anna Slotky, American former actress
• July 1 - Amanda Lucas, American retired professional mixed martial artist and actress
• July 3 - Rebecca Honig, American voice actress
• July 4 - Tahar Rahim, French actor
• July 5 - Ryan Hansen, American actor and comedian
• July 13
• Fran Kranz, American actor and director
• Michael Mando, Canadian actor
• July 17 - Michiel Huisman, Dutch actor
• July 21
• Davide Perino, Italian actor and voice actor
• Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter and actor
• July 22 - Josh Lawson, Australian actor and filmmaker
• July 23 - Raphaël Personnaz, French actor
• July 24
• Mohammed Amer, Palestinian-American stand-up comedian and actor
• Summer Glau, American actress
• Sheaun McKinney, American actor
• Lauren Miller Rogen, American actress, comedian, screenwriter and director
• July 26 - Sarah Burns, American actress and comedian
• July 28 - Neil Casey, American actor, writer and comedian
• July 30 – Lisa Wilhoit, American actress
• July 31 - Eric Lively, American former actor
• August 1 – Taylor Fry, American former child actress
• August 3 – Travis Willingham, American voice actor
• August 4
• Marques Houston, American singer and actor
• Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, American former actress and model
• Valerie LaPointe, American storyboard artist and director
• Abigail Spencer, American actress
• August 5 - Jesse Williams, American actor, director and producer
• August 6 – Leslie Odom Jr., American actor
• August 8
• Tongayi Chirisa, Zimbabwean actor and singer
• Meagan Good, American actress
• August 10 - Jon Prescott, American actor
• August 20
• Ben Barnes, English actor
• Michael Rady, American actor
• August 22
• Ross Marquand, American impressionist, actor and producer
• Takumi Saito, Japanese actor
• August 24 – Chad Michael Murray, American actor
• August 25 – Rachel Bilson, American actress
• August 27
• Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor
• Sugar Lyn Beard, Canadian actress and radio personality
• August 29 - Émilie Dequenne, Belgian actress (d. 2025)
• August 31 - Joshua Close, Canadian actor
• September 1
• Michael Adamthwaite, Canadian actor
• Boyd Holbrook, American actor
• September 3
• Evgeniya Brik, Russian actress (d. 2022)
• David Shae, American actor
• September 4 – Beyoncé Knowles, American singer and actress
• September 8 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
• September 9 - Julie Gonzalo, Argentine-American actress
• September 12
• Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
• Elle LaMont, American actress
• September 14 - Miyavi, Japanese guitarist, singer-songwriter and actor
• September 15 - Ben Schwartz, American actor, voice actor, comedian, improviser, writer, director and producer
• September 16
• Fan Bingbing, Chinese actress, model, producer and singer
• Alexis Bledel, American actress
• September 17 - Griff Furst, American actor, producer and director
• September 18 - Jennifer Tisdale, American actress and singer
• September 22 - Ashley Eckstein, American actress
• September 23 – Misti Traya, American actress
• September 24
• Yuki Matsuzaki, Japanese actor
• Fernanda Urrejola, Chilean actress
• September 26 – Christina Milian, American singer and actress
• September 29 – Shay Astar, American singer and actress
• September 30 – Ashleigh Aston Moore, American-Canadian former child actress (d. 2007)
• October 1 – Rupert Friend, English actor
• October 3
• Seth Gabel, American actor
• Giselle Itié, Mexican-born Brazilian actress
• October 9 – Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor
• October 12
• Tom Guiry, American actor
• Brian J. Smith, American actor
• October 15 - Brandon Jay McLaren, Canadian actor
• October 17 - Liam Garrigan, English actor
• October 18 – Graham Moore, American screenwriter
• October 22 – Michael Fishman, American actor
• October 23 - Jackie Long, American actor, writer, musician, director and producer
• October 25 - Josh Henderson, American actor and singer
• October 30
• Fiona Dourif, American actress and producer
• Steve Peacocke, Australian actor
• Shaun Sipos, Canadian actor
• November 1 - Matt Jones, American actor, voice artist, comedian, rapper and singer
• November 2 - Katharine Isabelle, Canadian actress
• November 6 – Lee Dong-wook, South Korean actor
• November 7 - Lotta Losten, Swedish actress
• November 9 – Scottie Thompson, American actress
• November 10 – Perla Liberatori, Italian voice actress
• November 14 - Vanessa Bayer, American comedian and actress
• November 15 - Sammy Sheik, Egyptian-American actor
• November 16
• Caitlin Glass, American voice actress
• Kate Miller-Heidke, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
• November 17 - Bojana Novakovic, Serbian-Australian actress
• November 18
• Nasim Pedrad, Iranian-American comedian and actress
• Christina Vidal, American actress and singer
• November 20 – Andrea Riseborough, English actress
• November 23 - John Lavelle, American actor and playwright
• November 30 - Jake Szymanski, American actor, writer, director and producer
• December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and actress
• December 3
• Maddy Curley, American actress
• Liza Lapira, American actress
• December 5
• Adan Canto, Mexican actor (d. 2024)
• Lydia Leonard, British actress
• December 8 - Dov Tiefenbach, Canadian actor and musician
• December 13 – Amy Lee, American singer-songwriter (Evanescence)
• December 15
• Michelle Dockery, English actress
• Brendan Fletcher, Canadian actor, screenwriter and producer
• Victoria Summer, English actress, model and singer
• December 16 – Krysten Ritter, American actress
• December 22 - Nicolas Vaporidis, Italian actor
• December 27
• Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
• Jay Ellis, American actor
• December 28 – Sienna Miller, English actress
• December 29 - Charlotte Riley, English actress
• December 30
• Gina Beck, British actress and singer
• Leila Farzad, British actress

Deaths

Film debuts

Notes

References

External links

• List of 1981 films at IMDb
• 1981 Domestic Grosses at Box Office Mojo
• List of 1981 deaths at IMDb
• List of 1981 births at IMDb